, 1887-07-27
DANIEL PELLING DEAD.
One of the Victims of the Chug-
water Tragedy Expires.
Facts Brought Out by the Evidence
Given Before the Coroner's Jury.
Link and Baker in Custody of the
Officers at Laramie.

pired at the county hospital yesterday
morning at 5 o'clock. The man suffered
intensely from the rife wound and died in
great agony, but said nothing throwing
additional light on the terrible occurrence
further than was stated in these columns
yesterday. His assertions Immediately
after being taken to the hospital differed
from the testimony Of the witnesses only
in one particular, when he positively as
serted in the presence of at least two per-
sons that the officers fired first and shouted
halt afterwards.
Coroner Chafin impaneled w. A.
Richards, A. Ringolsky, A. Adamsky,
Jos. Dillman, S. Bon, Jr., and Robert E.
Reamy, as a jury to inquire into the
causes which led to the death of the de-
ceased.
Chas. Cooley, the other wounded man,
was the first witness. He lives in Wis
consin. is an Irish-American, laborer by
occupation, and is % years of age. Cooley
stated that he and Polling were hunting
about three-quarters of a mile from Chug
water station, when two men, whom he
afterwards learned were Link and Baker,
approached rapidly on horseback and
commanded chem to halt and throw up
their hands, accompanying the order with
a volume of unnecessary profanity. The
men then dismounted and approached
Polling and Cooley, at the same time
aiming rifles at them. The prisoners be-
came frightened and ran, when firing be.
gan. The guns were discharged five or
six times, and the pursuers only desisted
when both men lay wounded and helpless
on the ground, with the hot sun blazing
in their faces and no one near to minister
to their wants, and fully an hour passed
before they were rescued. In the mean
time Sheriff Sterling arrived and was
almost heartbroken when he discovered
that innocent men had been injured.
Cooley says the men who did the shooting
were between 100 and $50 yards away,
while Polling at one time before his de-
mise stated tha. his murderers were not
more than fifty yards distant. The for
mer Is probably correct, as a Winchester
rifle ball of the calibre used would not
lodge in a mans body, as is the case in
this instance
At the conclusion of Cooley's testimony
the coroner's Jury adjourned until 2 p. M,
at which hour they met in the city hall,
when j. L. Kelly. an intelligent Irish
man from Philadelphia, was called to the
stand. As Mr.. Kelly gave a pretty
straight account of the occurrence from
the beginning until the wounded men
were placed aboard a special train and
started for Cheyenne. his testimony is
herewith reproduced verbatim:
"On the morning of July 25 | was
seated with several others in front of the
hotel at Chugwater when a man, whom l
afterwards learned was Baker, rode up on
a gray horse and inquired where the
boarding boss stopped. After learning
where he was, Baker went to him and in
CURED whether any strange men had
taken breakfast there that morning. The
boarding boss said that two strange men
had gone over the hill after getting break
fast. Baker then rode to the street and
began 'screeching' like an Indian. Pres
emily another horseman appeared. Both
started toward the hills at a mad gallop.
In about five minutes Baker came back
with the same 'screech, and when he got
close to us he started shouting, We got
them, we downed them, we winged them,
but refused to say what the shooting was
about or anything concerning 1t. l then
went in and ate my breakfast. When l
returned | observed the sheriff's wagon.
l went over to where the wagon was.
There was a man in the wagon called
Mike (Mike Rice) whose other name 1
don't know. | noticed blood on the back
of his hand. | came to the conclusion
that they had shot some one, and with
another man went to where the wounded
men lay. When 1 got close enough to
hear the man who was shot in the leg he
shouted, Hello, Kelly l uttered an
oath, saying that those fellows had shot
two Of men. Cooley asked me to see
if the other man, who lay IN a ~ravine,
was alive. | went down and Polling
asked for water. l am something of a
surgeon myself and saw that it was a
hopeless case, and asked if he had any
relatives or wanted a preacher. He said,
L have no religion. You will find the
addresses of my folks in my pocketM l
told the man with me to run for water,
but just then the wagon appeared with
mattresses, brandy and water. l held
Pelling's hat over his face and tried to
console him. His breathing was
irregular and heavy. | came back to
Chugwater with the wagon on which Pell-
ing lay. They took him out and lay him
on a cot and made him as comfortable as
possible. Sheriff Sterling did all he
could, and told us to spare no expense to
alleviate the sufferings of the wounded
men, and to give them everything that
money could procure. Mike (Rlce) said
-